Agenda and minutes

To approve, and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 15 September 2021 (Item 2)

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on Wednesday 15 September 2021, be approved, and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To consider Item 6

The Lead Member for Finance and Assets, Information Security and IT introduced the report and advised Members that there had been changes since the report was written and asked the Director of Finance and Assets to take Members through the changes.

The Director of Finance and Assets advised that firstly he would give Members some background into the changes and the revised recommendations which were on the new page (in front of them).

The Director of Finance and Assets also advised Members that there were some officers at the meeting within the scope of this report, who did not need to declare an interest, but he wanted Members to be aware that some officers present were affected.

The Director of Finance and Assets advised that this report gave the latest position regarding immediate detriment. Essentially, it applied to operational staff who were on the old scheme and transferred into the new scheme between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. At the March meeting of the Executive Committee, based on guidance and legal opinion, the Committee determined to treat those that were due to retire as if they had never left their old scheme. Since then, there had been some further legal cases against London and Nottinghamshire fire and rescue services and as a result, the Local Government Association (LGA) and Fire Brigades Union (FBU) had agreed a framework to enable the Service to deal with McCloud and Sargeant cases.

The Service was already dealing with category one cases - people due to retire, and in this respect the framework had helped to make sure they were treated consistently, across all Services. It also identified category two cases - people who had already retired and would have been transferred to the new scheme before they retired. Eventually, all cases would have to be revisited when legislation was laid.

The Director of Finance and Assets advised Members that since the report was published, HMRC had published new proposals for tax. The main change introduced was that if members got a lump sum more than twelve months after they retired, it was subject to what’s called an ‘Unauthorised Scheme Sanction Charge’, but from 6 April 2022, it would no longer apply. Therefore, the recommendations had changed slightly, as it would be beneficial for some members to wait slightly longer than the timescales in the framework, to make those payments to people who retired more than 12 months ago.

The Director of Finance and Assets also updated Members on the number of cases. Within the report it stated there were thirty cases, which was based on the total number of people who had retired since 1 April 2015 but weren’t fully protected members. Some further investigation had been undertaken, and of those thirty people, just over half retired before they tapered across, so would not be subject to immediate detriment, as they already had the correct benefits. Of the remaining thirteen cases, six were ill health retirement, and in terms of priority, would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider Item 7

The Head of Prevention, Response and Resilience advised Members that this report related to the Thames Valley Fire Control Service, and as Members were aware, this Authority entered into an interagency agreement for the provision of the control room which went live in April 2015, along with Oxfordshire County Council and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. There were two contracts that underpin the control room, and these were provided by Capita through their Secure Solutions and Services Business. The contracts were the mobilising system contract, and the contract for the provision, maintenance and support of the DS300 Integrated Communication Control System (ICCS).

Earlier this year, the Authority became aware that Capita was looking to undertake an extensive review of this particular portfolio, and this resulted in a new company being formed called Capita SSS Limited. The two contracts currently provided sit within Capita Secure Information Solutions Limited, which was a subsidiary of Capital PLC. The Deed of Novation was to move those contracts from Capita Secure Information Services into this new company within Capita.

The Head of Prevention, Response and Resilience advised Members that under this interagency agreement, if there were any changes that underpin the arrangements in terms of the control room function, then each respective authority needed to approve it. The same report would be presented to Royal Berkshire Fire Authority and Oxfordshire County Council seeking their approval for the transfer. If there was agreement to both recommendations, the Authority was also agreeing to permit Royal Berkshire Fire Authority and Oxfordshire County Council to allow that Capita SSS Limited to be potentially sold to NEC Software Solutions UK Limited. At the last meeting of the Executive Committee, the decision was taken to extend the mobilising contract to March 2023. This would allow the Authority to fully appreciate what potentially the new provider could offer in terms of the level of service the Authority was accustomed to with Capita. If the new company did not uphold the standards expected, then obviously there was the option to go out to market and look to identify a more appropriate provider.

The Chairman asked if anything was known about the new company NEC Software Solutions UK Limited.

The Area Commander advised that they were someone quite prominent within the emergency services arena and another Member advised that he was aware they were a reputable company.

A Member asked who else was in that marketplace and what reputation do these providers have.

The Head of Prevention, Response and Resilience advised that in terms of the Deed of Novation, the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority and Oxfordshire County Council would be transferring the contract between Capita companies. If it was agreed, and Capita were looking to sell that part of their business, then all the contractual obligations, liabilities in relation to transferring the contract would be that the new provider would be expected to deliver the same service, and that’s the level of reassurance that had been provided.

RESOLVED –

1.               That approval be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To consider Item 8

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised that this report related to a number of key systems and as Members would be aware, replacing systems could be a costly and time-consuming process and have a large impact on the teams having to deliver those new systems and balance their business as usual.

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised Members that over the last five years, the Authority had introduced a number of key systems across the service, including the Premises Risk Management System, which allowed the Service to capture, prevention work, including fire and wellness visits and also protection work. The Resource Management System, which allowed the Service to ensure it had the right resources in the right place and the Asset Management System, which was used by both the stores team and property team to track and maintain the assets across the Service.

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised Members that the challenged faced was that all these systems were due to come to the end of contract over a period of six months. It was important that the Service made sure it wasn’t just renewing contracts, but also to assess it by asking two key questions. Do we still need those systems and was staying with the current supplier the right thing to do? The answer was yes to both questions, they were all business-critical systems and the preference would be to stay with the current suppliers. After looking at options, it was decided to complete a contract modification which allowed the Service to extend the current contract agreement in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations. 

RESOLVED –

It is recommended that in accordance with Standing Orders Relating to Contracts, Standing Order 4(a) that:

1)               the Resource Management System contract with FireServiceRota be renewed for a further three years until 7 November 2025

2)               the Premises Risk Management System contract with Active Informatics be renewed for a further three years until 31 March 2026

3)               the Asset Management System contract with Redkite Systems be renewed for a further two years until 31 March 2025

To consider Item 9

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised Members that the Wide Area Network allowed the Authority to connect all stations to the internet and the Local Area Network was the internal connection within the buildings.  The background to this report was that the Service had been working with Buckinghamshire Council under an umbrella contract for the last nine years with Updata. The Service made the decision to assess its options, and it was now still working with Buckinghamshire Council, but in a partnership with BT.

Unfortunately, the move to the new supplier and had been hit by delays to both the Authority and Buckinghamshire Council and both had needed to extend the contract with Updata. Therefore, to ensure that the Service continued to operate, there had to be an emergency extension to the contract for one year at a cost of £118k. The Chief Finance Officer had authorised the renewal of the WAN/LAN contract with Updata for a further year until September 2022.

A Member asked if there was a risk in having to extend past the current extension date.

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised that at present, the change over date was April 2022 and the Service was towards the top of Buckinghamshire Council’s list to transfer over.

A Member asked if the links to the Thames Valley Fire Control Service were on the same WAN/LAN.

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised that no, the Thames Valley Fire Control Service was managed by Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Services’ WAN/LAN and was totally separate.

A Member asked that when the Service signed a contract with Buckinghamshire Council, was there a clause that if something went wrong there would be some contribution to costs and also in the new contract with BT was there any compensation if it was delayed.

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised that as it currently stands, it wasn’t costing the Service any additional charges because the Service hadn’t paid anything extra to Buckinghamshire Council or BT, all it was doing was moving the start date of the new contract back.

A Member asked what the cost of the new contract was.

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised that she would email Members this information, rather than discussing at an open meeting.

RESOLVED –

In accordance with Standing Orders Relating to Contracts, Standing Order 4.2 it be noted that the Chief Finance Officer has authorised renewal of the WAN/LAN contract with Updata for a further one year until 24 September 2022.  

To consider Item 10

The Deputy Director of Finance and Assets presented to Members the Budget Monitoring Report as at the end of September 2021.  Table 1 provided an overview of each directorates budget and forecast outturn.  The current expenditure forecast of £31.456m against a budget of £32.277m resulted in an underspend of £821k.  However, due the additional funding of £329k in relation to protection grants and local tax income guarantee, the Authority would see a net overall underspend of just over £1.1m. Based on current projections, there was no longer a need to use reserves of £1.1m, instead the Authority was projecting an additional underspend of £38k. Any fluctuations in the figure throughout the financial year would be captured and monitored to ensure the use of reserves were minimised and offset against any underspend identified within the expenditure.

The Deputy Director of Finance and Assets advised Members that with the summary of variances being seen within each directorate, the largest underspend was within Finance and Assets, Delivery, Corporate Development and Planning. Within Finance and Assets, a £256k underspend related to a rebate received with relating to a business rates review carried out.  The review carried out by external specialists identified reductions in the rateable value of several stations and was backdated to 2017. The other area with high levels of underspend related predominantly to employee costs. 

Table 2 showed the breakdown of favourable and adverse variances relating to direct employee costs. A higher underspend was shown under wholetime relating to new recruits joining the 2015 pension scheme, replacing existing post holders on the 1992 scheme which had a higher employer contribution rate.  On-call underspend related to activity and training costs.  Underspend seen within Support staff was due to delays in recruitment caused by Covid, and also restructuring taking place resulting in savings in establishment costs.

Table 3 showed the actual spend since March 2020 in relation to the Covid Pandemic and how the Authority had utilised £801k of Covid funding. Funding had been used to cover additional employee costs, protective equipment, and IT upgrades.  The Covid grant had now been fully utilised, and the spend until the end of September was £807k.

The Deputy Director of Finance and Assets advised Members that the Capital Programme budget for 2021/22 was £2.402m. Property capital funds were utilised to carry out planned capital projects as per the condition surveys. The majority of fire appliances and equipment budget would be utilised to purchase red fleet appliances and the related operational equipment. A slippage of £369k had been forecast due to delays in the delivery of 2021/22 fire appliances. The support budget related to ICT hardware purchases and £500k for the WAN/LAN rollout. Scoping works had been completed and hardware requirements agreed which would be installed and completed by the end of September.

A Member asked for the latest update in the efforts to secure precept flexibility.

The Director of Finance and Assets advised Members that since the last meeting, the Budget had been held and Councils had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To consider Item 11

The Programme Manager advised Members that this report was the latest in a series of updates regarding the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP). The last update was provided in February 2021. Since that update, there had been developments regarding the programme’s full business case, which was formally approved by the Government’s major projects review group in July 2021.  The Service was expecting a briefing paper to be released by the programme, however this remained outstanding and was again chased by the South-Central Region. The report also referred to the launch by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of a consultation on a proposal to make a market investigation into the supply of land mobile network services for public safety in Great Britain and the involvement of Motorola in this. The Consultation closed on 2 September and the CMA report was published on 25 October.  They confirmed that a market investigation referral should be made, and an inquiry group had now been appointed. 

The Programme Manager advised Members that also mentioned in the report was the establishment of an Independent Assurance Panel to provide assurance regarding the strategic director of the programme. This group had been asked to complete a high-level review of the Local User Resource model that formed the basis of the funding support to transition fire and rescue services to the new Emergency Services Network (ESN). One outcome of their report was to establish an ESMCP Resources Board, which comprised representation from the Home Office, the Programme, and the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).

The Board had set up a Task and Finish Group to be chaired by the NFCC ESN Senior User which would meet for the first time in November.  The first task to be looked at was the roles of the NFCC led Regional Co-ordination Managers and the Programme Managers who were employed by each region and how they could work together in a different way to deliver national work.

The Programme Manager advised Members that one item of good news was the appointment of a new Regional Programme Manager for the South Central Region. Paul Channing who previously worked for the NFCC ESMCP team would be joining the region in December. 

A Member asked that although this was a national issue, what were the implications locally.

The Programme Manager advised that with regard to the delays to the programme, it was more about resourcing. The current Airwave Network was resilient, there may be issues in the future with the hardware, but at the moment locally the hardware was ok. There were very few Airwave terminals with defects. The main thing was to continue to engage with the programme and be ready to transition when required by providing the necessary resource.

RESOLVED –

That this update be noted.

To consider excluding the public and press representatives from the meeting by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as the report contains information relating to any individual; and Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as the report contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of a person (including the Authority); and on these grounds it is considered the need to keep information exempt outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED –

It was moved and resolved that the public and press representatives from the meeting by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as the report and minutes contains information relating to any individual; and Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as the report and minutes contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of a person (including the Authority); and on these grounds it is considered, at this moment in time, that the need to keep information exempt outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Deputy Director of Finance and Assets, Head of Covid-19 Preparedness and Response, Head of Protection, Assurance & Development, Head of Prevention, Response and Resilience, Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO and the Programme Manager left the meeting.

To approve, and sign as a correct record the Exempt Minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 15 September 2021 (Item 13)

RESOLVED –

That the Exempt Minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on Wednesday 15 September 2021, be approved, and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Director of Legal and Governance and the Director of Finance and Assets, left the meeting.

To consider Item 14

The Committee considered the report and appendices, details of which were noted in the confidential/exempt minutes.

To note that the next meeting of the Executive Committee will be held on Wednesday 9 February 2022 at 10 am.

The Committee noted that the date of the next Executive Committee meeting would be held on Wednesday 9 February 2022 at 10.00am.

THE CHAIRMAN CLOSED THE MEETING AT 11.15 AM.